All eyes will be on LeBron James when the Los Angeles Lakers host the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night.
The pregame narrative: LeBron is officially questionable at the time of writing, but it appears as though The King will kick off season No. 23 this evening after rehabbing from sciatic nerve discomfort. Los Angeles is a heavy favourite against Utah, which sports a 2-4 ATS record on the road.
Check out my Jazz vs. Lakers SGP predictions for Nov. 18, featuring Lauri Markkanen and Luka Doncic.
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Jazz vs. Lakers predictions
Parlay: Lakers -9.5 | Doncic under 8.5 assists | Markkanen 20+ points (+325)
Lakers -9.5 (-182): I'm happy to back the Lakers at this number with or without LeBron.
Getting one of the GOATs back is a boost, but L.A. has done just fine in his absence. The squad is 10-4 and sports an identical ATS record, tied for the best mark in basketball.
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Utah, meanwhile, has been dreadful on the road. It is 1-5 SU, losing by an average of 15.8 points. Only the Indiana Pacers have a larger average margin of defeat (-19.1) on the road.
The Jazz have failed to cover this number in four of their last five road games, most recently losing to the Timberwolves by 40 in Minnesota.
Los Angeles beat the same Minnesota team twice this year, including once on the road.
NBA SGP legs
Doncic under 8.5 assists (-118): Fading Doncic on any market is risky business, especially against a team like Utah. But I think this bet has a great chance of cashing if LeBron plays, and would still be in play if he happens to be sidelined.
- Doncic has gone under this mark in three of his last four games and five of 10 on the year.
- This matchup has blowout potential, meaning he could see reduced minutes if Los Angeles runs away with things.
- Historically, Doncic has been a "shoot first" guy with LeBron in the mix. He's gone under this line in 21 of 28 games when sharing a court with LeBron.
Last year, the Lakers played the Jazz twice with Doncic and LeBron. Luka was on a slight minutes restriction but had just eight total assists in those games.
-> Fade Doncic and back Markkanen on Tuesday night
Markkanen 20+ points (-345): Markkanen is on another level right now.
- He's averaging 30.6 PPG this season.
- He's scored 35+ points in three straight games (40+ in back-to-back).
- He has 20+ points 12 of 13 games and 25+ points in 9 of 13 games.
The Finnish forward had a down year in an injury-riddled 2024-25. But he was an upper-echelon scorer the two seasons before that, and seems to have hit his prime at age 28.
Los Angeles is a solid defensive team, but this feels like a borderline free leg to tack onto the SGP. It also boosts the odds from +180 to +325 thanks to some negative correlation.
Jazz vs. Lakers predictions made at 3:30 p.m. ET 11/01/2025.
